The Polar Bear is finished! This is her pre-look before she gets professionally photographed and digitised. I’ll then do a print drop! #blueskyart #polarbear

For an unknown writer, seeing your book in a shop window is a thrill! It’s not British, but allow yourself a moment of pride when you’ve worked hard and shown resilience. Street Dogs, False Friends is now available to buy. The second in the Street Dogs series. @mandylalley.bsky.social

Visited the fabulous indie Write Blend Bookshop in Waterloo, Liverpool, to promote Street Dogs and Street Dogs, False Friends. Unknown creative with big time passion. Illustrated by the terrific @mandylalley.bsky.social

Street Dogs, False Friends is now available to buy. It’s such a fabulous book, with beautiful illustrations by @mandylalley.bsky.social , and offers a wholesome, fun read with some important life themes for children. An antidote to so much out there right now.

An update on the Polar Bear! Honestly, I know I say I’m nearly finished, but I AM almost there… #art

It’s Publication Day for ‘False Friends’. Thank you to Lisa Worth for asking me to illustrate her beautiful story and also thanks to Kingsley Publishers. A wonderful adventure sequel for 8-12 year olds about a pack of Street Dogs. Available online today! #streetdogsthebook #author #illustrator #dogs

My set up! #blueskyart

I’ve just read a post from a writer who has had a few bad reviews and was feeling low. I was beginning to feel sorry for her when I read further and she was saying she couldn’t understand the backlash against AI, and why not - cover artists are soooo expensive…right? Where do I f****** begin?

Sometimes I get an image in my head that’s so strong, I have to paint it. I tried getting this piece finished for a competition, and even though I stayed up many nights before the deadline, life had other ideas. . . This is pretty much from scratch to where I am now. #timelapse #polarbear

I haven’t been on here very much lately. Dad has been taken seriously ill and I’ve been taking him in to the hospital for his tests and biopsy. He can’t eat very much so he’s having Scouse and soups. We’ll know what course of treatments soon.

Hey hey! Here’s the cover reveal of ‘Street Dogs - False Friends’! It’s a wonderful book written by @lislou.bsky.social, illustrated by me and published by Kingsley Publishers. I’m so chuffed and I’ll update you with the release date 🐪🐕🐪 #blueskybooks

A little more of the cover of False Friends is revealed as we countdown to publication day! @mandylalley.bsky.social #writingforchildren #author #childrensbooks #illustratedbooks

It was an absolute delight to meet @bobstoneauthor.bsky.social in Write Blend, Waterloo. It’s a gem of a bookshop and so pleased that Street Dogs and False Friends is going to be stocked. Thank you!

Lovely to meet the very talented @mandylalley.bsky.social today and I am delighted to say we will be stocking the fab Street Dogs by @lislou.bsky.social for which Mandy has provided the luscious illustrations and the follow up, False Friends which is coming very soon!

I’m so happy with this book, and the work of @mandylalley.bsky.social is just incredible. We’re not super famous artists, just unknown creatives doing our thing, but we’ve got this over the line against all the odd and U.K. happy to say I’m proud. I’d be so grateful for a share.

There aren’t enough words (allowed here) to share the shocking personal battles @lislou.bsky.social and I have faced over the last year. However, we now have some fantastic news! ‘False Friends’ the sequel to ‘Street Dogs’ is being published by Kingsley Publishers. Here’s a cover teaser. #books

Found this as I was having a little scroll through. My beautiful girl. #dog #ullswater #lakedistrict

I wasn’t going to post this as there’s a massive gap where nothing really happens. Still, love the beginning and I’ll have a go at getting more #ullswater #timelapse #lakedistrict

Timelapse of a Sunset over Ullswater. I did two of these on different evenings and the birds came to the same spot on both days. You’ll see them whizzing about in the video 🦢 #ullswater #lakedistrict #timelapse #timelapsephotography #sunset

This is actually a still from some Timelapse footage over Ullswater. The Timelapse is great but this image is just fleeting as I caught it just as the sun was setting. #Lakedistrict #Ullswater #photography

Something I always wanted to do - night mountain photography. Still learning but here’s Orion, Taurus and the Moon over Ullswater. (If you look really closely 😁) #nightphotography #ullswater

After a horrible year and a half, me and this beautiful one took ourselves off for a desperately needed mini break. Queen Vix was such a star. #Lakedistrict #dog

After getting some very positive news about the book, I’ve just had the wind taken out of my sails with something I can’t control. This lovely girl has got me through some horrific times and we’ll be together through this. I can’t even say what it is. Just another blow.

What a terrific night at the Weird and Wonderful Film Festival at the Studio Below! I’ve really missed the indie film scene - the films are always incredibly inventive. Lovely bunch of film makers. You felt everyone had each others back knowing the effort each puts into making their film.

I’m currently doing some character sketches and thought this one had a feel of Kate from ‘Don’t Look Up’.

Me and my girl on a foggy coastal walk. With all the crazy news right now, this hour we both get in the mornings are a quiet distraction. Here she is showing off her floof pants.

Out on the beach with the girl this morning and the first time I’ve seen thunder snow. Wish I could have got a shot if it but it terrified Vix so had to head back. Plus we were completely out in the open. It was wild - so many colours as well.

What I am finishing off tonight (hopefully 🤞) #dragon #art

I did this in 2019. It had been a tough year. I resolved to forge forward and wanted to create so much. We lost Jerry - the dog in the pic and the most beautiful boy. Then a terrible cruel blow losing E suddenly last year. Not jaunty as in this pic, rather going into 2025 wielding a baseball bat.

1.30hrs into 14sec timelapse down on Crosby Beach. Venus makes an appearance right at the end. #liverpool #timelapse #sunset

As some one who is low key SM lurker and has just hit 100 followers (thank you!), I have a similar anxiety about going viral. One of my tweets became very popular and seriously, my anxiety levels nearly hit the roof.

I’ve seen the Tory-graph have been making noises about the UK becoming the 51st State. Now the USA is trying to claim everything as theirs: Are Reform planning to take the UK and then ‘sell’ it to the USA? Have I got that right?

‘Poobags keep flying in the wind.’ An accurate image of me and Vix on her loo break this morning! #Darragh

This cheeky face kept swooping down and grabbing my hat asking for peanuts this morning! #crow

I painted a cover for my unpublished book. The painting hasn’t been seen either. Giving it a little share. #climate #whaleeye

Bloody so cold in my house, nothing will charge. 🥶

Well this is lovely to see. ‘Street Dogs’ written by the very talented Lisa Worth and illustrated by me, is available from Waterstones. …and the sequel ‘False Friends’ has just been formatted and is due out early 2025!

When I trained at college, we often looked to animals to shape our characters. I’ve always thought what our dogs would be like if they were human. Here’s a rough sketch of Vix, an ex street dog as I imagined her when she first came to live with us. #art

‘Street Dogs, False Friends’ has now been formatted and will be published soon! Well done @lislou.bsky.social

This is the face of a girl who would rather have her Puppuccino than eat her breakfast which was still left when I got back to the van. She’s also sad her pup-cup is now empty. #blueskydogs

First Sunday free for a long time and I’m like, “Weee. I can do all the things.” Reality - just ordered socks and pants off the internet.

Either my house is freezing, or it’s unseasonably warm outside.

Fantastic!

Not that anyone asked but here’s the boiler update. Man came round to have a look. It blew up - fire and everything. That’ll be £2K+ for a new boiler or lots and lots of hot water bottles. I’m currently working with a rather long hot water bottle stuffed up my jumper. 🥶

This is 3 years in the making. Vicky has never been a sociable dog. If I go and sit down, she’ll find another space. I don’t know what happened to her before but she wouldn’t even lie on her comfy bed. But this week, she changed. Here she is, snuggled up with me on the sofa. #rescuedog #blueskydogs

I’m trying to upload this again as it disappeared twice last night. Here’s an acrylic painting I did an age ago.

Not a fantastic time to have a broken boiler #snow

Vix and her Puppuccino! #dogsofbluesky

For many reasons surrounding grief, I haven’t watched telly or been able to listen to any music for almost a year. However, fireworks have been relentless and Vix needed a distraction. So, I’ve rediscovered Planet Earth and Blue Planet series. Incredible photography and storytelling. Beautiful!

I came across this photo from a little experimental film I made years ago. I sculpted a 3D model for the 1st time using Sculptress and then animated her. I don’t do very much photo-realistic stuff now but good to look back on. I hope you like her. #whales #art #space